


A Place in This World

by SynthesisNexus



Series: Merthur Taylor Swift Songverse [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Taylor Swift, M/M, POV Arthur, POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Song: A Place in This World (Taylor Swift)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynthesisNexus/pseuds/SynthesisNexus
Summary: The very beginning of 'Arthur and Merlin' wasn't something grand or spectacular. It was not romantic or inspiring or even uplifting. It wasn't even the smallest of footnotes in history. And, yet, it was to change everything.Inspired by Taylor Swift's "A Place in This World."
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Taylor Swift Songverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071389
Kudos: 13





	A Place in This World

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise for the summary. I've never written such a short fic before, but I think it fits. This is the first story in a series based on Taylor Swift songs. They don't strictly go by the lyrics or the music video, but they are the starting point. I'm writing these stories as a sort of exercise to get back into writing; do not expect too much because of that. Regardless, I do hope you will enjoy.

When did ’Arthur and Merlin’ start? Posed with this question, different people have wildly different answers. For Arthur, however, it had always been clear; it wasn’t their first kiss or their first fuck, nor even their first civil conversation. No, for Arthur, ‘Arthur and Merlin’ began two months into Year One when their teacher asked them all a question, years before either had said a single word to the other.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Miss Finnigan asked them with a big smile. The class was sat in a circle, and it didn’t take two seconds for Peter to pipe up.

“A fireman!” he yelled excitedly.

“A princess!” a girl answered.

“An astronaut!”

“A doctor!”

“A truck driver!”

“The prime minister!”

“A nurse!”

The answers came in rapid succession. Of course, Arthur’s response had been ‘lawyer’. It had never been a question. His very first memory had been of his father’s study, Uther working diligently, and Arthur left to his own accord so long as he didn’t make a disturbance. The soliciting firm ‘Pendragon & Pendragon’ had been in the family for four generations. With Arthur taking over from Uther one day, a fifth.

Miss Finnigan tilted her head and looked at a raven-haired boy with ears to match Dumbo, an addition to the classroom only a fortnight prior. “And what about you, Merlin?”

Merlin shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Come now, you must have something you’re interested in?” Miss Finnigan pressed on with a gentle smile.

Little Merlin looked down into his lap with a pensive frown. By now, the whole class was looking at him. A few seconds later, he looked up with a blinding smile.

“I want to be happy,” he told them all.

Arthur was perplexed by this answer. Miss Finnigan also, if her expression was anything to go by. She quickly moved on, but Arthur didn’t. This would be the beginning of his small obsession with Merlin.


End file.
